Archives: HR

At SpringLaw we get a lot of questions from both employers and employees about the intersection of the criminal law and the employment relationship. Unfortunately it’s easier, and likely more common, than you might think to get somehow mixed up in a police database or wind up with a criminal record. Many employers will require … Continue Reading

I blogged about pot in the workplace early this past August – see my post here. The legalization of marijuana made the news again, as Ontario announced its plans with respect to how the legal sale of marijuana will be practically rolled out. Basically, the LCBO will run 150 retail outlets selling marijuana, and it … Continue Reading

The first Monday of September is Labour Day (Labor Day to our friends in the States). In Canada, this is a provincial statutory holiday, celebrated in all of our Provinces and Territories. Most businesses will be closed, with the exception of business that fall under provincial retail business holiday acts, such as tourist destinations and … Continue Reading

Trans rights have been in the news a lot lately. During his eventful tenure, President Trump has eroded existing protections for transgendered individuals in the United States. This winter he removed protections for transgendered students in public schools that allowed them to use the bathroom of their gender expression, and not their physical sex. At … Continue Reading

This is the third post in my series about the proposed Bill 148 legislative changes. In this post I discuss changes related to scheduling, leaves and vacations. Under the proposed changes employees will have the right to increased workplace flexibility and increased leave entitlements. Let’s take a look at the breakdown of these expected … Continue Reading

Last week I posted about Bill 148. In this post I will discuss some specifics of the proposed changes related to pay. The Bill proposes several changes that will affect how much employees get paid. Minimum Wage Perhaps the most wide sweeping change will be the proposed increases to Ontario’s minimum wage. General minimum wage … Continue Reading

I posted in May about upcoming reforms to Ontario’s workplace laws and you’ve likely heard other rumblings in the employment and HR world about Bill 148, known as the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017. Early in June the first reading of the Bill was carried, the second reading discharged and the Bill referred to … Continue Reading

I regularly speak on the issues of employment and human rights law, but it turns out that lawyers really do end up with a warped view of the world. Yesterday I spoke on a panel of HR and people-management thought leaders: David D’Souza, Anna Petosa and Shaun Scott, moderated by Chris Taylor of Actionable. I … Continue Reading

The Ontario government has been reviewing employment laws and labour standards in Ontario, the first such major review since the mid-1990s. A package of reforms is expected to be released next week. “Changing Workplaces” has been a two-year review, headed by outside experts Michael Mitchell and John Murray. The Ministry of Labour’s website contains the … Continue Reading

What is an employer to do when served with a Statement of Claim? Here are the most common questions we get: Is a response mandatory or can we ignore the claim? How do we get rid of this ridiculous claim? How much is this going to cost? Is a Response Mandatory? Yes, an employer must … Continue Reading

Must the Employee Sign Off Prior to the Start Date? When an employee is terminated without cause and offered a package that is very modest, but otherwise compliant with the employment contract, a common first step for his or her lawyer will be to see if the contract can be set aside. If the contract … Continue Reading

Today is the day. The decision to terminate an employee has been made and now you have to deliver the news. Before you step into that meeting, give some consideration to the impact this will have on your soon to be former employee. Once the correct legal process has taken place, help guide the individual … Continue Reading

This post is a quick primer on the subject of hours of work and rest periods for provincially regulated employees in Ontario. The Ontario Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) has several rules regarding hours of work for employees, including permitted length of shift, time off between shifts and time off during a work week. See my past … Continue Reading

This post is a quick primer on hours of work and eating periods. The Ontario Employment Standards Act (“ESA”) requires that employees be given a meal break of at least 30 minutes within each five consecutive work hours. The ESA builds some flexibility into this, as the employer and the employee can agree to split the … Continue Reading

As of January 1, 2017, several new requirements have taken effect under the disability law regime in Ontario. The Integrated Accessibility Standards (IAS) made under the Accessibility of Ontarians with a Disability Act (AODA) sets out a comprehensive framework for business in Ontario to ensure the accessibility for employees and customers. Since 2012, employers have … Continue Reading

Last week I wrote about the statutory framework of the family status accommodation requirements in Ontario. The case that has moved this area of law along is Misetich v Value Village Stores (2016 HRTO 1229, “Misetich”), a case the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) released this fall. This case intersects with disability accommodation … Continue Reading

Discrimination on the grounds of “family status” continues to be a hot topic for Canadian employers. Are employers required to accommodate an employee’s eldercare obligations? Are these sorts of obligations different than an employee’s childcare obligations? Where is the line between personal preference to help out one’s parents and a medical or legal obligation that … Continue Reading

As of the date of this posting, there are only 38 more sleeps until December 25 (according to my kids’ countdown app). This means only 5 more weekends (6 if you count December 24 as a perfectly noble shopping day) and likely several parties before the end of the year. Cue the annual articles on … Continue Reading

Why reinvent the wheel? Drafting employment contracts, policies, termination letters and releases based on a past precedent is often a good place to start. It is usually both time and cost efficient, and for someone unfamiliar with the document, it’s a great learning opportunity. Plus, in today’s knowledge economy, there are a ton of great … Continue Reading

A blog post just in time for some downtime over the holiday – when can personal tweets become grounds for termination? Some of you may remember when in August of 2013 Canadian news outlets were a-buzz with the termination of two Toronto Firefighters for sexist comments made on Twitter. For a media report on the details of the … Continue Reading

About Me

Lisa Stam is founder of Spring Law, a virtual law firm advising exclusively on workplace legal issues for employers and executives. MORE